The Indonesia Muslim Travel Index (IMTI) 2025 marks another milestone in Indonesia’s journey to strengthen its leadership in global Halal tourism. Developed collaboratively by CrescentRating, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, Bank Indonesia, and the Enhaii Halal Tourism Center (EHTC), the report provides a comprehensive assessment of provincial readiness to serve Muslim travelers.
With beautiful natural assets, rich cultural heritage, and a Muslim-majority population, Indonesia naturally holds a strategic position in the global Halal tourism market, driving millions of Muslim travelers every year. However, as the global Halal tourism market is intensifying, there is a pressing need for the country to secure its leadership in the international arena.
As Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana and Imam Hartono from Bank Indonesia emphasized, IMTI 2025 is more than a publication; it is a strategic roadmap guiding the policy formulation, program implementation, and coordination among stakeholders for the country’s tourism transformation. Built on data, rigorous research, collaboration, and shared purpose, it aligns national and regional actors toward a more inclusive, resilient, and globally competitive Halal tourism ecosystem.
Indonesia has long stood at the forefront of Muslim-friendly tourism, securing the #1 position in the Mastercard–CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) in 2019, 2023, and 2024. In 2025, Indonesia’s ranking shifted to 5th place, even as its overall score remained unchanged at 76. Rather than reflecting a decline, this outcome signals intensified global competition and the need for renewed focus on innovation, accessibility, and certification.
This leadership rests on decades of institutional progress:
1975: Establishment of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), the foundation for national Halal assurance.
2012–2016: Development of Shariah tourism guidelines and formation of the Halal Tourism Acceleration and Development Team under the Ministry of Tourism.
2018: First launch of the Indonesia Muslim Travel Index (IMTI).
2024: Publication of the Muslim-Friendly Tourism Basic Guidelines E-Book to unify standards nationwide by the Ministry of Tourism.
Beyond these key developments, Indonesia continues to strengthen its Muslim-friendly tourism environment through three ongoing initiatives. The first focuses on accelerating Halal certification for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in super-priority regions, to ensure their active participation in the Halal tourism economy.
The second initiative is the Tourism Village Program, which empowers rural communities through certification, training, and promotion, turning local potential into sustainable tourism assets. Lastly, the country is undertaking the Clean Tourism Movement, which is a national effort to enhance hygiene and sustainability across priority destinations, ensuring that tourism growth aligns with environmental responsibility and visitor well-being.
These programs and developments reflect a sustained national effort to build a Muslim-friendly tourism environment. Today, the challenge is to deepen these foundations; enhancing quality, inclusivity, and policy coordination to secure Indonesia’s leadership in an increasingly competitive global landscape.
The IMTI serves as a bridge between national ambitions and provincial implementation. It localizes CrescentRating’s global methodologies to Indonesia’s diverse regions, offering both a benchmark and a strategic tool for policymakers.
Aligned with Indonesia’s Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN 2025–2029), the index helps translate potential into performance. By identifying strengths and gaps in Indonesia’s Halal tourism ecosystem, recommending practical actions, and evaluating marketing effectiveness, the report informs how Halal certification, infrastructure, and service improvements can converge to deliver measurable gains in tourism readiness. In essence, IMTI 2025 provides not just evaluation; but direction for provinces to grow in step with Indonesia’s vision for inclusive and sustainable tourism.
Globally, Muslim-friendly tourism continues to expand at pace. The number of international Muslim travelers is projected to reach 186 million in 2025, with total expenditure expected to reach USD 235 billion by 2030. Asia remains the epicenter of this growth, accounting for the majority of Muslim tourist arrivals due to its connectivity, affordability, and cultural proximity.
With its Muslim-majority population, rich natural and cultural assets, and ongoing initiatives, Indonesia is well positioned to capture this momentum. In 2024, the country recorded 13.8 million total arrivals, including 1.9 million Muslim travelers, marking a strong 79% recovery from pre-pandemic levels.
While 66% of total tourist arrivals came from non-ASEAN nationals, most Muslim visitors came from ASEAN markets, comprising 75% of the country’s Muslim travelers in 2024. Malaysia is the top contributor, underscoring the importance of regional faith-based connectivity. This highlights Indonesia’s global appeal and strong ASEAN market presence, indicating Indonesia’s untapped potential in fully capturing the Muslim travel market. From these insights, Indonesia can reinforce localized strategies catering to their preferences to attract repeat visits and longer stays.
As more destinations across Asia adopt Muslim-friendly practices, Indonesia’s demographic advantage and established policy framework provide a robust platform to reassert its role as a reference point in the global Halal tourism movement.
The IMTI 2025 highlights three strategic priorities for Indonesia’s continued progress: bridging gaps across provinces, accessible tourism, and heritage elevation.
There are notable gaps between domestic and international tourist arrivals in Indonesian provinces. Major provinces in Java Island like Jawa Timur and Jawa Barat stand out as domestic tourism leaders, and provinces like DKI Jakarta, Kepulauan Riau, and Nusa Tenggara Barat attract more international visitors. However, other significant provinces with rich cultural assets and Islamic heritage like Aceh, Kalimantan Selatan, and Gorontalo still experience low levels of visitations. The clear disparity in traveler arrivals across the provinces highlights Indonesia’s need for more profound and tailored Halal tourism strategies.
Accessibility is central to inclusivity. With over 1 billion people worldwide and 28 million Indonesians living with disabilities, the report calls for universal design principles, improved prayer spaces, and staff training to accommodate travelers of all abilities. These improvements are especially relevant as Muslim travel often involves multi-generational families seeking comfort and dignity.
By prioritizing general accessible infrastructure, Indonesia would be making a long-term investment, as it will support a more comfortable journey for travelers and will gradually build the country’s reputation as an accessible and inclusive country; attracting a more diverse range of visitors. Moreover, this initiative would not only benefit the travelers, but also the broader local community.
Equally crucial is the development of heritage destinations. Indonesia is home to numerous remarkable cultural sites and natural wonders, from beautiful historic temples to marine ecosystems; yet a lot of these remain unrecognized. It is important for the country to spotlight these sites for recognitions to world organizations like UNESCO. These acknowledgements will greatly enhance Indonesia’s visibility to global travelers, including the Muslim market.
Recent UNESCO recognitions show that efforts have been made, with the cases of the Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and the Meratus Geopark; demonstrating the growing international acknowledgment of Indonesia’s cultural and natural assets. To sustain this momentum, heritage sites require balanced management that safeguards authenticity while enhancing visitor experiences.
Together, accessibility and heritage development embody Indonesia’s commitment to tourism with integrity; a growth that respects faith, people, and place.
IMTI 2025 applies the ACES Framework, which evaluates provinces across four core dimensions:
Access (10%) for connectivity and mobility
Communication (20%) for visibility and stakeholder engagement
Environment (30%) for policy support and inclusivity
Services (40%) for quality and range of visitor facilities
Among the 15 assessed provinces, Jawa Barat leads the 2025 rankings with a score of 69.6, followed by Sumatera Barat (67.9), Nusa Tenggara Barat (66.6), Aceh (65.7), and Jawa Tengah (65.4).
Special recognitions include:
Best Overall & Best Environment Performance: Jawa Barat
Best Communication: Sumatera Barat
Best Services: Jawa Tengah
These results reveal a positive trend: excellence is no longer concentrated in a few destinations. Provinces across Java and Sumatra are increasingly shaping Indonesia’s Halal tourism landscape through innovation, infrastructure, and local initiative.
Introduced in IMTI 2025, the RIDA Framework (Responsible, Immersive, Digital, Assured) represents the next step in Indonesia’s Halal tourism advancement. The framework aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals as today’s travelers expect destinations to be more than just profit-driven services. It provides a practical guide for attractions to achieve the high standards in combining sustainability, valuable experience, and accessibility. With a RIDA Impact Score (RIS) that quantifies how destinations deliver sustainable, inclusive, and technology-enabled experiences, various stakeholders in Indonesia’s Halal tourism ecosystem will be able to identify strengths and gaps for improving services.
Pilot projects in Bandung, Bogor, and Cirebon illustrate how this approach translates into practice:
Bandung: The Al-Jabbar Mosque complex integrates environmental engineering and education.
Bogor: The Botanical Gardens combine Qur’anic heritage with modern conservation.
Cirebon: Heritage villages like Cibuntu demonstrate community-led cultural preservation.
Together, these pilots show how the RIDA framework can align faith, innovation, and sustainability; offering a blueprint for continuous improvement nationwide.
The Indonesia Muslim Travel Index 2025 is more than a measure of performance; it is a blueprint for renewal. As competition intensifies, Indonesia’s ability to lead will depend on how effectively it transforms insight into collective action.
The collaboration among government institutions, local stakeholders, and industry leaders has already set a strong foundation. The next phase lies in scaling inclusivity, deepening digital engagement, and sustaining environmental stewardship.
As Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating, affirmed, “We are not just sharing data, but a shared vision.” That vision now guides Indonesia toward a future where it remains a global benchmark for responsible, faith-aligned, and world-class tourism.
